Tuesday, June 6, 2017

bE aFrAid (not)!

"Do one thing every day that scares you."

~Eleanor Roosevelt

Hey All fUn&fRee feArLESS pEoplE:Be aFraid! be very afraId . . .! Are you scared of being scared? I am. It makes me want to run away and try to control or forget the yucky stuff that scares me. As Eleanor Roosevelt recommends, we should do some (one)thing everyday that scares us. Which, really means, that we must try to tune in to what we are scared of--AND INTENTIONALLY DO THE THING THAT scArEs us The MoStEsT! . . . seems kind of counter-intuitive, doesn't it?For me, the scariest thing lately (as in, for the past 10 years), is speaking my truth and sharing my feelings.I've never been very good at this. You see, I never thought my feelings were right (have you ever heard of right feelings? OMG), and I never got that my voice was, well, worthy of being heard, truth be told (why did I believe my voice was less important than anyone else's?). I never got that others valued what I had to say, and that is what caused me to take my feelings U N D E RGROUNDand even medicate myself with unhealthy behaviors, attitudes, mindsets, and patterns. I am so, so lucky, that the important people in my life are willing to hear the truth, albeit SUPER KLUNKY most of the time. . . (namely, Keith, Max & Chloe, Mom, Chris, Shelley, Celia, Alana, Brenda, Edward, Diane).

HEAR ME NOW,

funfreepeople:

FEAR

(in disguise)

IS OUR

BEST

FRIEND

as in,

our best opportunity for growth.

A mentor of mine, Mastin, has taught me that my fear informs me what I MUST to do next--like a signpost or a roadmap. For example, if I'm scared of telling my friend how I feel or share what I think, it's EXACTLY what I need to DO! OMG! It's the total OPPOSITE of how I've lived much of my life.I'm so lucky and blessed that I (sort of) get it now. . .

"Go to your fears, sit with them, stare at them.

Your fears are your friend, their only job is to show you undeveloped parts

of yourself that you need to cultivate to live a happy life.

The more you do the things you're most afraid of doing the more life opens up.

Embrace your fears and your fears will embrace you."

- Jackson Kiddard

So, according to this amazing quote, we are suposed to be friends with stuff that scares the CrAp out of us--and, (what the heck?)--our fears are FRIENDS--they show us what we NEED TO DO--WHAT WE MUST DO-- TO GROW.

Story opportunity: My daughter, Chloe, told me she saw a book called Courage (Waber) that she wanted to get--so, we went down to our awesome neighborhood bookstore called the Wild Rumpus and bought the book!

So weird! When we got home, I received a package from UPS delivering a book that I forgot I had ordered a few months back.

Guess what it was called? Courage (Ford)!

We had both wanted the same book? AND they arrived on the same day!

Coincidence? NO WAY! Synchronicity? YES WAY!

SO what exactly is synchronicity?

English teacher moment:

syn = same

chron = time

icity = the quality of

So, it basically means the quality of occurring at the same time. I also call these magical moments, awakening calls, fairy whispers, Universe knocks, GodWinks, and signs.

They call: HEAR ME! PAY ATTENTION. THIS IS NOT A COINCIDENCE.

These moments happen to me almost every day now, because I have learned to pay attention and listen. It could be a stranger's conversation, a piece of paper I find, a bug or an animal, or a hug from my children.

Have you faced a fear lately? Or, have you ever experienced a synchronicity that u were aware of? Let me know in the comments!

2 comments:

I think that's the way of women. We don't trust ourselves. We don't trust that we are right. Not sure where or when we pick that up along the way. Thanks for saying it out loud. Doing scary things is the only way to grow.

gEt a funfreeMe dAiLy pOsT!

fInD OtHeR go(0)D sTuFf!

About (funfree)Me!

I am a writer, storyteller, teacher, blogger, philosopher, spiritual collagist, mama, LoVer of LiFe!, amazing friend, and one cOoL pUsSy cAt!!
I has been teaching middle school English for over 25 years and hold a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a focus in literacy. My interests in reflection and spirituality stem from my research in adolescent identity formation (translation: how we grow up and become more fully ourselves!), from work on my own transformation, and from my experiences of evolving as a PERFECTly imPERFECkT hu(wo)man BEing!